Age-Friendly Health Systems, New York State Action Community

Age-Friendly Health Systems is an initiative of The John A. Hartford Foundation and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in partnership with the American Hospital Association and the Catholic Health Association of the United States.

Older New Yorkers participate meaningfully in community and family life now more than ever. However, they continue to face challenges accessing patient-centered care. These challenges — from overmedication to falls and treatable cognitive concerns — are largely preventable.

What is an Age-Friendly Health System?

© 2021 Institute for Healthcare Improvement

Age-Friendly Health Systems use a set of four evidence-based elements to organize the care of older adults, known as the “4Ms”: What Matters, Medication, Mentation and Mobility. The 4Ms are essential components of high-quality care for older adults, and when implemented together, result in significant improvements. Age-Friendly facilities see improved patient experience scores, as well as quality outcomes such as readmissions, emergency department utilization and length of stay.

HANYS launched the New York State Age-Friendly Action Community in 2020 with support from NYSDOH, The John A. Hartford Foundation and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. The Action Community helps participant health systems accelerate the adoption of 4Ms care, using an “all teach, all learn” model. Participant teams receive group education through monthly webinars and topical coaching calls and attend a half-day virtual summit. Teams then perform tests of change to identify which approaches work best in their unique care settings. Under the expert guidance of the HANYS team and our four faculty, teams then scale and spread 4Ms care across their facility, transforming the care delivered to older adults. Sites will earn official recognition from IHI as Age-Friendly Health System participants.

Age-Friendly Health Systems in New York State

More than 300 care settings across New York state have achieved Age-Friendly recognition. Use our pivot table, updated quarterly, to access a complete list of these care settings and slice data by parent organization, care setting type, recognition level and region. Summary statistics are also provided.

Resources

• Showcase of 2022 Age-Friendly Stipend Recipients
• Age-friendly one-pager
• Recruitment package
• Background on the IHI Age Friendly Framework